Dick Clark hosted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve from 1972 until 2004.
The program first aired on December 31, 1972, as a youthful alternative to older New Year broadcasts. Clark hosted from Times Square while musical performances and a countdown connected viewers to the midnight celebration in New York City.
He remained the show’s central host through 2004, then continued appearing after a stroke affected his ability to host in the same way. Ryan Seacrest became the principal host in later editions, and the program was eventually renamed Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.
The show’s title is often shortened to New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. It is a television program, not the name of the Times Square public event itself, although the two are closely associated in popular culture.